Most known log roll winders cut the web while the web is in the air, rather than against a drum. As the knife cuts, it forces the web against a new core. However, as the tail of the web is not supported, the web, particularly thin webs, will not lay down smoothly against the core and wrinkles are produced on the outer wraps. Winders of this type are made by Fuji Tekko.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,110 to Welp et al. describes a log roll winding system in which a complex cutting system is used to sever the web. A cutter perforates the web along a line and the web is braked to sever the web. Cutting is not performed on the fly.
Some high speed log roll winders wind a web of material around large rollers and onto cores by cutting, tabbing, and transferring the web in a nonstop process. The completed log rolls have the same web length as the finished product rolls but have a full web width. The log rolls are lathe slit to the desired product width without rewinding. If the finished rolls require tabs, such as to mark the end of the rolls, the tabs are applied to the ends of the log roll before slitting. The tabs are narrow strips of material such as paper. The tabs are preslit to the desired length of 0.63 cm to 1.27 cm (0.25 in to 0.5 in) and have a width equal to the width of the log roll. The tabs are applied individually to each log roll.
These systems typically apply the tabs to a log roll either manually or from a magazine. Tab application is sometimes performed with the web stopped and sometimes with the web moving. Regardless, the tab is applied as a separate operation before the web is cut to terminate the log roll. It is very difficult to properly align the tab next to the cut edge of the web.